Ice Cold
by ToniTheTerror
Summary: It's basically.. a little thing I did to vent out my slight obsession for TweekxCraig :D It has some Yaoi/Gayness/Boy-on-boy action, so if you don't like, don't read. xx
1. Chapter 1

"Just because you can't get laid, Tweek!"

My eyes flash towards the group of boys, excluding me from their ranks, looks of pure hatrid in their eyes. I twitch as they mention the word 'laid'. After years of lonliness, I had been seriously considering . . No! No, I'm not a fag! Am I?

"Shut it, Stan!" I squeak.

Jesus, my head is spinning. I'm so confused. I hate this. Confronting my sexuality sucks, I wonder if there's a pill to help you decide. I've got enough pills from 'The Demon Doctor' already, one more to help me decide can't hurt . .

Shut up, Tweek! Stop being stupid! There isn't a pill to help you make decisions! There's pills for everything else - but not for that!

I hate my life.

This whole argument wasn't even started by me! It was Cartman. Eric fucking Cartman. We were all in the mall having a good time, then he started shouting at Stan. He said that Stan was a bad boyfriend for Wendy. Eric then made Stan ireally/i mad.

"I'll do a lot better, Stan! Heck, I might even get laid! You're the only one out of all of us that hasn't got laid! You haven't been un-virgin-ified!"

I flinched and muttered that I thought that was disgusting. Then Stan lost his temper with bme!/b Then everyone else started shouting at me because they all want to get on Stan's good side! Just because he's popular and is in the football team, they think if they're friends with him - they might get a girl. I must say for Eric, no chance.

"Ge-Gee-Get l-lost, Fr-freee-freeeak!" Jimmy yells at me with his vacant expression.

I stare round at the people in the crowd.

Bebe, Clyde, Jimmy, Pip, Timmy, Wendy, Token, Stan and Eric. Kyle, Kenny, Butters and Craig were stood somewhat away from the other group, looking somewhat sadly at me.

They were a divided group of friends. There were the Stan kiss-ups, like Clyde and Token, and then the other guys, Kyle, Craig, Butters and Kenny. I feel bad for Stan, even though he has a horrid temper. He isn't the only one who hasn't been laid because I haven't. I'm sure everyone else has. You would have just automaticly assumed Stan wasn't a virgin because of how popular he is, but no. He nearly got laid once, Kyle told me, but he said he 'wasn't ready'.

"Go home, Tweek!" Pip squeaked at me, trying to look as angry as the other guys.

"Fuck off, Frenchy!" Craig yelled from his group. He looked angry and I was glad he was sticking up for me. "What's this got to do with you anyway?"

"Yeah!" The other boys yelled, pushing Phillip Pirrup from their ranks. He walked slowly away from them out of the mall doors.

"What are you still doing here, Freaky?" Wendy yells at me.

Stan laughs. "Freaky Tweeky!" he shouts, to outrageous laughter from his kiss-ups.

I walk away from the crowd, my chin against my chest.

Jesus, I wish they would all fuck off and die! Well, not all of them. Not Craig and Kyle.

Craig and Kyle are the only ones who respect me. Oh, and Butters and Kenny - they seem to like me. Oh my fucking god. I have four friends. Four? No, three.

Craig . . he's not my friend. Oh my god. I am so gay. I've just realised I have feelings for my best friend. How screwed up is that? I like Craig . . more than a friend. I am in love with Craig! I am such a fag.

I walk along the street outside the mall, not even bothering to look behind me, no-one will have followed me anyway. No body ever follows Tweek the Freak. Gah, my life is suckish.

"Hey, Tweek!"

I don't turn round. Un-doubtably, It will probably be Stan or one of the others, ready to fly more insults at me. The sound of the dick-head's footsteps quicken as if the person is running. I quicken my step and brace myself for the name-calling.

"Tweek, dude?"

Ooh, shit! Craig. Not now, cheeks don't blush! Please!

Listen to me, I'm talking to my cheeks . . and it's not working, anyway.

"Hey, Craig." I mutter, facing away from him so he can't see my red face.

"How did you know it was me? You haven't even looked at me!" Craig giggles. I feel my face. Thank god, not warm anymore. I turn to face him.

"Craig. We've been friends since third grade, since we were eight! Were now eighteen so it's like ten years I've known you! I should know what your voice sounds like by now!"

"Yeah. Fair point, Tweeky." Craig says, looking at me. "What's going on with your face?"

Shit. My face might have cooled down but the redness hasn't recceded.

"Nothing, just cold." I say, quickly.

"You're blushing, Tweek. I can tell!" he giggled, poking my side and making me squeal.

"What do I have to blush about?" I laugh, looking at him warmly. If only he knew.

"I dunno. But I do know your blushing about something." Craig said, looking at me and raising his eyebrows.

"TELL HIM!" A voice in the back of my head screams.

"Alright. I like someone . ." I mutter, tugging at my blonde hair.

"Oooh! Tweekie's finally gonna get laid!" Craig jokes. I look at him dolefully.

"Sorry." he mutters.

"It's okay." I smile at him and he smiles back. "Craig . . this may sound a little weird, but . . who did you do it with and what was it like."

"Do what?" Craig asks, a look of utter confusion on his face.

"You know . . get laid." I murmur. I don't look at his face. I just look at the snowy pavement on which we are walking. I don't know where the hell were going. Probably to the playground.

"Tweek . . I'm gonna tell you something." Craig sighs. "I've never done it." he mumbles. I spin round.

"You never . . ?" I stutter. I always presumed he would have had some slim, blonde . . . . girl.

"Nope." he says, defiantly. He doesn't care! "I don't want to. I actually don't think I can."

He's blushing. Blushing? Why?

"You still haven't told me who you like!" he says. Is he . . changing the subject?

"Uh. It doesn't matter." I murmur.

"Yeah, it does!" Craig says, tickling my sides slightly. I push him away, trying to look serious but smiling slightly all the same.

"So you like someone, Who?" Craig asks. He grabs my arm and pulls me round to stop and face him.

"I don't want to lose that person as a friend." I mutter. His look changes slightly.

"Me?" he says, his eyes wide.

Shit.

How the hell did he know.

"H..H-" I stutter, shocked. He turned from me and began to walk away.

"Craig!" I yell.

'Please god! Please don't let this ruin our friendship!' I think desperatly.

"Sorry. Gotta go." Craig murmurs, now running from me.

I stood alone there in the snow for hours after that. Hating myself and the world.

Steadily getting colder and colder.


	2. Chapter 2

God, It's cold.

Where the hell am I?

What happened to me?

I force my eyes open, and stare into a blue, cloudless sky. 

Well, I am laid on a bench. The bench that was behind me when I told Craig! Oh, shit.

Now I remember . . I told Craig. Jesus, he's never going to talk to me ever again.

I've lost my best friend, forever. 

Craig is the type of person who likes to mull things over for very long periods of time. He will probably still be angry at me this time next year. 

Well, I know why I'm so cold. I am laid in snow…covered in snow! Not the warmest of places.. I shift my body so I am sat on the bench normally and brush the snow from my hair and jeans, my hands stinging from the ice cold air. I rub them against my shirt - no real use as my body is just as cold. I let out a sigh.

I guess I should go somewhere.. But where? Home? I pull my dirty green sleeve up and look at my black plastic-coated watch. It reads '8:45 am'. I press the small shiny button on the left hand side and the display changes. 'MON 19.05.08'. I slept through the whole night on a park bench?

Oh, crap. I have school today, and five minutes to get there! Then again, why go to school?

I have all the crap lessons today, anyway.

I suppose I should go, though. Don't be reckless - be good and choose the right option rather than the easy one. Well, one things for sure - talking to Craig definatly won't be easy.

I throw my bag down under my desk, slump into my seat and bury my head in my arms. I'm totally wiped. I don't think I have ever ran to school so fast, but the weird thing is - I don't know why! I had been debating with myself about actually turning up in the first place, then I find myself running as fast as I can to get in here! Out of morbid curiosity, I suppose it was to see Craig, but I knew he would be angry at me. Argh. I dunno! 

I raise my head and look around the classroom, Kyle is looking at me with a questioning look on his face. I shake my head. We have our own way of communicating. My 'friends' usually ask me what is wrong when I'm being like this, I shake my head if I'm not in the mood. Kyle smiles gently and turns back to talk to Kenny. I gaze at Cartman, sat at his desk laughing and scrawling on a piece of paper. Butters is stood behind him, looking sort of scared. He is glancing from Cartman's doodles to Stan, to Wendy. Obviously, Cartman is drawing something along the lines of what he had said yesterday at the mall. I glance over Butter's shoulder and see the yellow bobble of a dark blue hat. I gaze further down to the face, a perfectly tanned boy's face, black hair over one of his eyes as he head-banged to the music on his ipod. Listening to rock music, typical Craig. He's pretending to play the guitar, he should get a guitar for real, I'm sure he'd rock.

I stare at him, watching him sing the words to the song, quietly as he strums his air-guitar. I work out he is listening to his favourite song; 'My Chemical Romance - I'm not okay'. I stare at the front sing lightly under my breath with him. 

"Well, if you wanted honesty that's all you had to say.."

I savour this moment as it's probably unknown to Craig, but were singing together again. As a symbol of our friendship. Whenever I went over to Craig's house and he played his music; he would always sing and pretend to play the guitar. He began to encourage me to sing too. I learned most of the My Chemical Romance songs just by singing with him. We jumped up and down on his bed, singing and screaming, pretending to play our air guitars. When we got tired - we would turn the volume down and lie on the floor, looking out at the sky through the window on Craig's ceiling. 

"Tweek, you know you're my best friend, right?" Craig would say, smiling at the ceiling.

"'Course I do." I would smile back. "Do you know you are my best friend?"

"Yeah."

We would beam at each other and stare at the sky with the tips of our heads just touching. The fibres of our hairs mixing, except from when Craig wore his hat, obviously. Then my hairs just mingled with the soft fabric of the garment. 

Looking back at Craig now, I see he has removed his ipod headphones and is now texting on his phone. 

"Wonder who he's texting.." I think to myself. "Probably some girl. Or maybe his new best friend!"

Suddenly, I feel my phone vibrate. I slide it out of my jeans and flip it open.

'1 New Message: Craig.'

Excitedly, I press the read button and wait for the text to load.

'You nearly know every single word to that song now. It always was your favourite. Saw you singing."

I smile and look round at Craig. He doesn't meet my gaze, his eyes are cast upwards, towards the ceiling. But he's smiling. My heart lifts considerably. He made the first move. He talked to me!

At lunch I sit by myself, next to the stinking trashcan at 'The loser table' with two 'geeky' girls.

"Marie! Fuck off!" I mutter to the girl dressed in yellow beside me. She keeps trying to test how skinny I am. People say she has a crush on me and is seeing if I am 'fit'.

"But you're shhoo shhkinny!" she splutters through her brace. "It'shh shhexy!" she pokes my side. I grab her hand and forcefully push it away. I grab my tray, stand up and walk across the long dinner hall towards the pile of used food trays. I grab my apple and shove it in my pocket before haphazardly dumping my tray on the overflowing pile. I turn round and bump into none other than Stan Marsh.

"Oh, It's you!" he sneers. "Craig told me to tell you something if I saw you. He told me to tell you that you're seriously confusing him. He said that he thought you liked that 'someone' and not Marie." Stan said, looking very bored and staring at a nearby table leg, which he obviously found more interesting than looking at me.

"Marie?" I say, astounded. "What the fuck? I hate Marie! She gets on my nerves, and she's a retard!" I whisper as the girl in mention sauntered past us.

"Not what Craig and I saw!" Stan said, slumping back down the hall towards the exit. I follow him all the way outside. He walks through the double doors leading to the grounds and over to a group of people all huddled around one slim, black haired boy. Craig.

"Alright, boys?" Stan says, coolly.

"Alright, Stan. What the hell did you bring that for?" Clyde jeers, gesturing at me. Stan turns round and looks at me.

"I dunno, he followed me." he spits.

"Fuck off, Tweek! Craig doesn't want to talk to you!" Token yells. I look at Craig. He isn't smiling or even looking at me. He is looking at the floor, an angry look on his face.

"Fine then." I say. Scowling at Craig, I walk away.

"Oh. Mr.Tweek!"

I turn and see a slim nurse running towards me.

"You forgot your wallet last week." she says. Smiling, I take the wallet from her outstretched hand.

"My dear." she says, putting a long finger nailed hand on my forehead. "You seem very out of breath, and you're boiling! What's the matter?"

"Nothing." I say, distractedly looking around for any signs of Craig turning up.

"Then why are you out of breath?" she said, fixing me with one of her 'tell me the truth' stares. She puts her hand under my chin and turns my head gently so I meet her gaze.

"I ran to school." I joke, mimicking Craig. We both laugh.

"Well, Craig is in my office now - why don't you come and see him? He's not feeling too well, but you should know all about it! You two have been like brothers for as long as I remember!"

"Yeah. Uh, I dunno. He might not want to see me if he is ill." I mumble, trying my best to lie but failing miserably.

"Fallen out, have you?" the nurse says, placing one of her perfectly manicured hands on the shoulder-seam of my green shirt. I say nothing and simply look at her. 

"Come on!" she says, taking hold of my arm.

"Where are we going?" I say, scared now. She's taking me to see Craig. I know it!

"I'm taking you to see Craig." 

Told you so.


	3. Chapter 3

The nurse led me down many corridors and we finally stopped at a white door with a green sign saying 'Patient Room'. She knocked three times and yelled; "Craig? I've brought a visitor. Are you decent?"

"I don't feel decent, but let them in!" he laughed from inside.

"Go on!" she whispered to me, opening the door. I stepped nervously inside and heard the door close sharply behind me. I look at Craig, he is sat on the bed, one ipod headphone in his ear and the other hanging down his body. He has his eyes closed but one eye flickers open when he hears me enter.

"Oh. Tweek." he says, shutting his eye again. "Don't mean to be rude, but can you piss off?"

"What the-? You were fine with me this morning when you texted me! What's your deal?" I say, looking at him with my hands on my hips. Both his eyes fly open and he sits up, legs crossed on his bed.

"What's my deal? What's your deal? You say you like me, then you go off and flirt with Marie Cannon, of all people - just to make me jealous! Holding her hand!" Craig yells, pulling his headphone from his ear. I look at him, my mouth open wide.

"M-Marie Cannon? You actually think that I would flirt with Marie Cannon! Come on, Craig! You know she has a massive crush on me! I forced her hand away from my side because she was tickling me!" I implore. Craig simply looks at me, deciding whether to believe me or not.

"Would I lie to you?" I ask. He looks up at me and I make a cute pleading face.

"No. I don't think you would." Craig says, smiling. "I'm sorry for storming off yesterday. It was just . . A bit of a surprise . . "

"Yeah, I don't blame you." I smile. Craig stands up and looks at me.

"The thing is . . I'm confused." he says, looking at his clasped hands.

"Confused?" I sit down where Craig had sat before.

"Yeah . . I like you, and I like the idea of being with you, but then I get confused."

"Why?" I ask. Craig wanders over to the mirror and shifts his hair around.

"I dunno." He mumbles, walking back over to me and looking into my eyes.

After a long pause, involving us both saying nothing to each other, Craig speaks up.

"Tweek. Say it."

"Say what?" I ask, puzzled.

"Say you love me." he says, smiling and pulling me to my feet.

"Erm . . Well . . I . . I . . I love you, Craig." I stutter, looking at his piercing grey eyes.

"Now kiss me." Craig says, grinning from ear to ear.

"What? Are you on something Craig?" I say, shocked but also slightly happy.

"Yeah, I've caught the Tweek bug." Craig purrs. "Now do what I say."

Gathering all my courage up, I quickly peck him on the cheek.

"No! Not like that!" Craig says, giggling slightly. "Like this . . "

Craig puts one hand on my cheek and draws his face nearer to mine. I suddenly have a burst of energy and lean towards him.

Our lips meet in one swift moment. Craig shifts his hand from my cheek to the back of my neck and begins to stroke it with the tips of his fingers. A shiver of pleasure runs down my spine and I close my eyes. I have never been kissed like this. Screw that, I have never been kissed at all! I realise that Craig's hands are moving from my neck, to my back, to my hair; while mine are hanging limply at my sides. I move my left arm up and run my hand along Craig's back, making him giggle lightly. We have been joined here for several minutes, before I pluck up the courage and run my tongue against Craig's bottom lip, as if begging for entrance. Craig's lips part almost instantly and our tongues begin to probe into each others mouths. After momentarily thinking "Ew!" the shock wore off and it began to feel really nice.

Craig's hand is moving up and down my back, rubbing it gently as our kiss grows more passionate. Then, his hand begins to move lower and lower, steadily nearing the waistband of my jeans. His hand passes my belt and stops once it has slid itself into my back pocket.

I open my eyes and see that Craig's are open too. I realise something and pull away from the kiss.

"Craig.." I pant.

"What? You didn't like it? Did I go to far?" he asks, sitting back on the bed.

"No. It's just were in school! There's still half the school day left and we can't stay in here eating each other's faces!" I laugh.

"I wish we could." Craig mutters, taking hold of my hand. I smile at him.

"Are you feeling better then?" I ask, remembering that I had come here because Craig was supposed to be ill.

"Tonnes!" he giggles. "You know . . I think we should get going . . I've got an announcement to make!" Craig stands and pulls me towards the door. There we bump into the nurse who brought me here. I see her eyes move from Craig's face, to mine, and then to our entwined hands. She smiles and nods at Craig, silently telling him that he is free to leave. She gives me a massive grin and a thumbs-up before Craig whisks me away down the corridor.


	4. Chapter 4

"Craig! Stop! Your going too fucking fast!" I squeal as Craig races down a corridor.

"Well, If I go any slower - Were going to be late!" He yells, clutching my hand even harder as we turn a sharp corner. People look at us as we speed past, giving us strange looks when they see our hands clasped together, but look away again - obviously thinking that they saw wrong. How could two boys be holding hands in the middle of South Park High?

When we reach our English classroom, I leg go of Craig's hand, thinking about how much he depends on his reputation. He looks at me, furrowing his brow but smiling, then he grabs my hand again and leads me past the rows of students (all staring at us open-mouthed) to our seats at the back of the classroom. When I have sat down and put my bag on the floor, I look up. I see every single face in the room turned to look at us. They all seem to have different expressions. Stan, Token, Cartman and some others have looks of deep disgust on their faces, but most of the class are either looking shocked or impressed. Kyle was giving me and Craig a massive thumbs up and Kenny and Butters were grinning from ear to ear. I look at Craig out of the corner of my eye and see that he is grinning . . Proudly. He's proud! Proud to walk through an English classroom, packed with all his friends, with me. ME!

All through the lesson, people stared at every chance they got and Craig simply smiled.

"Where you going for dinner?" Craig whispered in my ear as we were set our task for the lesson. I looked at him. He was using his flirty voice.. With me! I smile and look back to my textbook. Flicking to the back, I rip a small square of paper from a page there and grope in my pocket for a pen. When I find one I lean over the paper and scrawl one word on the paper. 'Home.' I hand the note to Craig and he reads it, then draws out his own pen and once he has written on the paper, he hands it back to me and I look at it and see one word scrawled before my own in Craig's scruffy writing. 'My' which made the words 'My Home.'

Craig was asking me to go to his house at dinner. I turn to face his blue hat clad head and nod.

"No! Piss off! Marie! I'm serious now! Fuck off!" I roar as Marie Cannon pulls at my arm.

"Noo! Come and sssit with ushh! It wasssh fun when you shhaat with ushh before!" she splutters, looking at me, flirtatiously through her circular glasses.

"No! I'm going t-"

"Hey, Tweek."

I snap my eyes away from Marie and look in front of me. Craig!

"Hey Craig." I say blushing.

"Who'ssh thissh?" Marie asks, clenching my arm tighter.

"This is Craig, he's . . . he's . . ."

"I'm Tweek's boyfriend." Craig says, looking at his fingernails with a small grin on his face.

"Boyfriend? But Tweekie! Boyssh are meant to like girlssh!" Marie said, finally letting go of my sleeve, with a look of slight disgust on her face.

"Well, were different. Were gay! Okay?" Craig says, glaring at her as he puts his arm around my shoulder. I glare at Marie too, though inside feeling quite sorry for her. I didn't exactly let her down very easily, did I? Then again, she couldn't take no for an answer.

"You're a retard, Tweek. You're shhick!" she yells as we begin to leave. Craig and I both flip her off in unison. Craig smiles at me and removes his arm from my shoulder, only to clasp my hand in his.

Walking down the snowy streets hand in hand with Craig. Is this real, or just a dream?

Nope, it's real. Thank god, it's real!

Suddenly I remember something.

"Craig! I've left my sports kit at my house!" I say, stopping in my tracks.

"Oh shit. What are we gonna do now?"

"I'm going to have to go and get it. Mr. Darren said that if I come without kit again, he's gonna make me do sports in my underwear!"

"Oh well. I'm fine with that." Craig said, grinning at me.

"Yeah, but I'm not!" I laugh. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to have lunch at my house, there won't be enough time to go to mine and all the way back to yours."

Craig looks down-hearted but still smiles.

"Oh well, that means you owe me two dinner times!" Craig flirts.

"Fine. But I better get going. See you later!" I say, heading for the opposite end of the yard, towards my house, but Craig pulls me back by my sleeve.

"Give me something to remember you by - otherwise I don't think I'll get through dinner!" Craig pouts, melodramatically. I grin and press my lips firmly against his. When we break, Craig looks surprisingly satisfied.

"What's that look for?" I say, smiling.

"Well, I meant a hug! But that works even better!" he laughs.

"Shut up!" I say, pushing him, gently.

"See you later, Tweek!"

"Bye, Craig!"


	5. Chapter 5

I drop my keys on the table and place my bag next to them. I look round and find that my mom has left my flask on the counter. I grab it and take a massive swig of the liquid inside. The coffee runs down my throat and my insides seem to warm up and tingle with pleasure. I start to twitch slightly but I don't care. Coffee makes me immensely jerky and paranoid but it just tastes so good! I finish the flask and race upstairs to get my sports kit.

I slowly open my chipped blue door, flick the light switch on and gaze upon the mass of clothes and books strewn across the floor. Pushing them aside with my feet, I make my way over to my desk where my sports bag is lying next to my drawing book. I flick through the pages of the sketch pad slowly, gazing at my sketches, doodles, and paintings. Then I stop at a page somewhere in the middle.. A portrait of Craig. It was an assignment - we had to sketch whoever was sat across from us. Coincidence?

I break my stare at the drawing and close the pad. Grabbing my sports bag, I flick off the light switch and run down stairs. I pick up my school bag and keys, race out of the door, lock it and make my way back to school.

When I get there I find that I only have two minutes to get to my next class - sports. I begin to run, passing student after student as I go. Some older than me and some younger, but all of them staring at me. When I reach the sports room I slump down on the nearest bench to catch my breath then raise my head to look around for Craig. Kyle.. Stan.. Kenny.. No Craig. Where is he? I raise from my bench and walk over to Kyle.

"Kyle, do you-"

"Tweek! The nurse asked me to tell you that you have to go and see her in her office as soon as possible." Kyle said, pulling his white sports shirt over his head. I turn and run to the nurse's office as quickly as I can, racing past the stares that had followed me minutes before.

"Nurse? Kyle told me that you wanted to see me?"

"Ah. Yes, Tweek. Take a seat, please. And I told you to call me Becky!" she says, grinning.

I have been visiting the nurse so often for so long that we are on first name terms! She is like a big sister to me. I walk to the vacant chair next to Becky and sit down. She silently looks at her shoes for a while, then says, "I'm glad he has you."

"What?" I ask, slightly confused by this question.

"I am glad that Craig has you." she says, smiling at me, but then I notice that there is a slight look of sympathy in her gaze. "You have been so happy, lately! Since you've been with Craig you have been less stressed and a lot cheerier!"

I smile back at her, blushing, but her smile falters slightly.

"Tweek.." she sighs. "I have to tell you something.." Becky looks at her feet and looks as though she is trying to grasp the right words. Then, she finds them.

"Craig is in hospital."

My insides suddenly flare with a mixture of shock and anger. I stand up, about to yell . . Then remember my promise.

I don't speak. I simply stagger backwards and slump in my chair again.

Then a long silence. Becky looks at me and I glance at her. I can definatly see sympathy in her eyes now.

"How?" I croak. My throat has gone dry and I can feel my eyes beginning fill with salty tears.

"He was walking to his house. He went down a shortcut, at the back of a pub. That alley way, you know the one? That's where they found him." Becky tells me, standing up and tottering over to her desk.

"Found him?" I ask, starting to shake slightly. Becky rummages in her top drawer and finally pulls out a small blue plastic bag. She walks back to her chair and sits down.

"Craig was hurt badly by someone. We don't know who. An old couple found him on that alley way. He has been punched repeatedly, lost a tooth, broken his arm, and also has many cuts and bruises. He was unconscious when they found him, and lucky they did! He was in a bad state. These are all his belongings. I said I would give them to his closest friend." Becky says, handing the bag to me. "I'm going to take you down to the hospital to see him. I have called your parents and they say it's okay. I'll just go and get my keys. You wait here."

She leaves the room and I am left alone, still clutching the bag of Craig's possessions.


	6. Chapter 6

I untie the knot in the top of the bag and peer inside. I pull the first object out. Craig's hat.

It's so soft. Closely woven fibres of soft blue thread with an even softer yellow bobble on the top. God knows how long Craig has had this hat.. As long as I can remember anyway and that sure is a long time! The next item I pull from the bag is a small wallet. Black with the 'My Chemical Romance' emblem on the front. I open it and see a picture of myself and him stuck in a transparent pocket. It was when we were about 9, we had gone to a shopping mall with our moms and we found a photo booth. We had to have a play around in it! We pretended we were in a spaceship and in a race-car until Craig's mom came and actually paid for us to have our picture taken. This one was pretty retarded. Craig tickled me and I twitched just as the camera took the picture. I think it looks weird, but it always managed to make Craig laugh. The last thing in the bag is a small set of keys. The keys to his house. He still has the stupid Doctor Who key ring I gave him for his birthday. I put the wallet and the keys back in the bag, but keep the hat in my hands.

Becky finally returns, poking her head round the door.

"You ready to go, Tweek?" she says, smiling at me.

"Yeah." I say, standing up clutching the blue bag in one hand and Craig's warm blue hat in the other. Becky gently leads me outside and into her pink beetle.

When we arrive at the hospital my stomach begins to clench tight again. I feel genuinely ill.

"It's a nice hat." Becky says, looking at Craig's most prised possession in my hands. She takes it from me and playfully jams it on my head, then laughs. I don't take it off, I walk into the hospital with Becky wearing the hat and grinning. We travelled up many flights of stairs and a few escalators until we reached a clean blue and green decorated ward. Becky asks a nearby red-haired nurse where Craig is, while I gaze around the ward. It's mostly full of teenagers, all full of bumps, bruises and broken bones. I look back at Becky and see the nurse pointing directions out to her. Thinking that we will surely be seeing him soon, I walk back to stand next to Becky. The red-haired nurse leads us along a corridor that seems to go on forever and finally stops at a single room. There is a small strip of chalk-board on the door, with the chalk on a small rest beneath it. I squint to read it and see that it has the words 'Crayg Donnovan' scrawled on with chalk. They spelt both his first and last name wrong! Idiots. I rub the 'y' in 'Crayg' and replace it with an 'i' then rub one of the N's from 'Donnovan'.

That's better. Craig Donovan. Much better.

Becky giggles at my 'insistent attitude to have everything perfect', then opens the door quietly. I see him, laid on the bed, his eyes closed and his chest raising and falling, slowly. He has a swollen face and a large cut across his forehead, half covered by his jet black hair.

His arm is in a blue cast that matches his hat and he has many bruises and cuts all over his arms. I run to his side quietly and grasp his hand. I gaze at his face, ruined by angry bumps but still so handsome. Becky moves to my side and puts a hand on my shoulder.

I hate seeing Craig like this, he hates to be vulnerable. He hates looking soft too. I know he doesn't like being ill and in hospital. He looks so peaceful, though. His eyes are so perfect, a rounded almond shape. I wish to myself that I can see their brilliant piercing blue again. His hand is lightly twitching at his side.. He must be dreaming..

I grab a plastic chair from near the door and drag it to the side of Craig's bed. I sit and rest my head on the bed, my hand still clutching Craig's. My eyes are beginning to hurt, so I close them….

"Tweek?"

My eyes snap open and I look around the room for whoever spoke my name.

Craig is sat up and smiling at me.

"Craig?" I say, shocked to see him awake.

"No.. It's Cartman.." Craig says, sarcastically. I smile, glad to hear his smart-ass comments again.

"Thanks for coming to see me.." Craig says, squeezing my hand which is still entwined with his.

"No problem. I knew you wouldn't want to wake up in a creepy hospital by yourself." I say, stroking his hand with my thumb. Craig's eyes flash upwards and he groans. Cartman, Kenny, Butters and Kyle are all walking through the corridor with lost expressions on their faces.

"Here they come to wreck my day.." Craig murmurs, momentarily letting go of my hand to shift his bedcovers, then grasping it tightly again.

Cartman glances through the window as he passes and grins his evil grin. He yells to the others, although myself and Craig cannot hear him. The others run up to the glass too and wave. Kyle enters through the door first and smiles at Craig.

"Are you okay, Craig?" he asks, standing at the foot of the bed with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Craig mutters, smiling at me. Cartman, Kenny and Butters enter then as Kyle pulls up a chair for himself.

"How you feeling, fag?" Cartman jeers at Craig. Craig ignores him and inspects his fingernails.

"Ay! FAG! I'm talking to you! Craig?" Cartman yells, getting annoyed. Craig looks up as soon as Cartman said his name.

"There you go! Finally got my name right! My name isn't 'fag' or 'emo'. It's CRAIG!" he said, grinning coolly. Everyone except Cartman laughed.

"Do you know who did all this to you?" Kenny asked Craig.

"Nope, but the police gave me a CCTV tape to look through.. It's over there.. Shove it in the VCR and we'll have a look.."

Once Kenny had put the tape in the VCR, everyone had a chair. Kenny pressed the play button and sat down.

I saw a few random people walk down the street on-screen then finally they saw the blue-hatted, black-haired boy that was Craig. He was head-banging to some music as he walked. I smiled to myself at his rocker-attitude. Then, the Craig on screen stops to tie his converse shoes. As he does this another black-haired figure jumps on him and begins to beat him up. There is a lot of yelling and girls laughter coming from off-screen. I look at the Craig sat next to me and see that he is flinching. I grip his hand tighter and look back at the TV. The boy has stopped beating Craig and he begins to walk away, but before he leaves, he bends down and picks up a black iPod. Then, the screen goes black.

"The bastards got my iPod!" Craig yells. "Well, I didn't recognise anyone.."

"Me neither.." I sigh, stroking Craig's hand again.

"I think I did.."


	7. Chapter 7

I stare at the boy who had just spoke those four terrifying, heart-stopping words.

"Kyle?"

Everyone is staring at him. He looks like he is going to be sick.

"I think I know who that guy was.." Kyle says, his voice croaky and dry.

"Who?" Craig asked, shifting himself so he was sat up. Kyle stayed quiet for a while, his eyes darting from his hands, to his feet, to the now crackling TV screen. Finally, he speaks up.

"It looked… It looked like Stan.."

My brain seems to flare with anger. My hands ball into fists and I begin to twitch again.

"Where will he be, Kyle?" I ask, my voice shaking with contained rage.

"Uh.. The park probably.. Why?" Kyle asks. I don't answer. I quickly squeeze Craig's hand and leave the room.

I hate him so much. The stupid, vain, self-centred bastard!

I felt sorry for him! I pitied him! We were in the same boat! We were both virgins and we had both been bullied for it. I thought he was okay.. But now I hate him.. He hurt the most important person in my life, the only person who made me feel warm and wanted.

I storm through the gates of the park and glance around looking for Stan.

I see him. Laid out on the bench, texting on his phone.

I run towards him, grab the scruff of his collar and spin him round. His eyes dart to my face and he drops his phone. As I slam him against the wall, I step on the phone and it breaks. He is looking at me with a half-puzzled, half-shocked shine in his eyes.

"I know what you did, you sleazy toe-rag!" I hiss, glaring at him.

"What are you talking ab-" Stan begins, but I press the fists holding his collar into his soft neck making him splutter.

"You know bloody well what I'm talking about.." I snarl. He looks at me, his look is full of an emotion I have never seen directed at me before. Fear.

Soon, the shock of my attack wears off and Stan begins to fight back, first he overcomes the pain in his neck enough to move his hands up to my hair. He grabs a fist-full of it and pulls with more strength than he looks capable of. Sudden pain forced out a yell as my strength disappeared, I fell to my knees in weakness, my grip on Stan's neck releasing as i crashed to the floor. Stan looms over me, grinning. I see the look of enjoyment in his face and anger wells up inside me again. I bring my legs up to my chest, then jab them out. They hit Stan squarely in the chest. It winds him and he staggers backwards. I stand, wiping my mouth as Stan coughs, then looks at me with pure hatred in his eyes. I glare straight back, not flinching. He lunches for me, grabbing a handful of my green shirt as he goes. I hear and feel the small warning clicks that signal the shirt is in danger of having a massive hole. Thinking that my parents will freak if I rip my shirt, I claw at Stan's hand. He releases, but then claps his hands over **my** neck. I can feel all the blood rush to my head and my temples begin to pump, threateningly. All those years of sports have really made him strong. He is obviously not putting all his strength into the push, because if he was - I would probably already be dead. However, it is still pretty painful and I can hardly breathe now. My eyes are swimming and I can feel a tingling sensation in the front of my face. I splutter a beg for him to let go but he only laughs. I can feel Stan's hand against my adam's apple. I gulp, then choke, the impact and pressure on my throat stopping the swallow. I'm beginning to lose strength..

I close my eyes and all I can hear now is the pumping from my head. I'm going to either die or be unconscious for a while… Then, I see a face.. With black hair.. And deep blue eyes.

Craig..

Suddenly, a mass of anger seems to hit the top of my head. It gives me a burst of energy and I sink one of my fists into Stan's soft abdomen. He lets go of my throat and I gulp in the fresh oxygen with relish. My head stops swimming, and my strength returns. Stan has backed away from me and is now spluttering and coughing again. Thinking it is all over, I ruffle my already, wild and un-tameable hair and turn to leave the park.

Then, Stan runs at me. Before I can dodge out of his way, he is pummelling my stomach. Searing pain jolts up my abdomen, but I do not fall. The thought of fighting for Craig is keeping me upright. I begin to punch him back. All my strength is powered behind my punches. It is beginning to hurt my knuckles, but all I can see when I look at his face is hate.

He finally stops punching me. I stop too and he backs away from me, pulling a blue inhaler from his pocket. I look at him as he places one end in his mouth, pushes the large button and breaths slowly. Stan then looks at me.

"Why did you attack me, Tweek?" He asks, panting.

"You attacked Craig!" I yell. Stan doesn't answer me, he just stares at a point slightly over my left shoulder. My eyes are boring holes into _his_ eyes, even though they are not returning the gaze. I am inspecting every inch of his worthless face. Glaring at him still, I move in front of the point the was staring at, trying to force him to look at me. No luck. He does look at my face, but not my eyes. He's looking at my nose. A confused look rests on his chiselled face. If he weren't such an asshole, I'd pat him on the shoulder and tell him not to worry.. That everything will be okay.

Finally, he looks straight into my eyes, instead of looking from my nose to my mouth.

"I didn't mean to.."

"You didn't mean to?" I repeat, slowly. "HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU NOT MEAN TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF SOMEONE WHO HASN'T DONE A THING TO YOU? YOU BEAT HIM TO A FUCKING PULP AND NO-ONE KNOWS! WHAT COULD HAVE POSESSED YOU TO PUNCH HIM UNCONCIOUS THEN STEAL HIS FUCKING IPOD YOU LOWLIFE EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN!"

I clasp my hand over my mouth. I had meant to teach him a lesson, not swear at him. Swearing is a sin.. Swearing is a sin..

He looks sort of shocked by my outburst. He's shaking slightly. I drop my hands to my side, then shove them in my pockets and lean back, slightly. That's a habit I have inherited from Craig. 'The Cool Pose'.

Stan sits on a near-by log. He rests his elbows on his knees and puts his head into his hands. No matter how much of an asshole he is.. He's obviously distressed and I need to help him. Geez, I hate being so caring.

I sit on the other side of the log, wrap my arms around my hunched up knees and look at Stan. He looks so sad. Regardless of how much I hate him, I would feel guilty if I don't say anything of comfort. I try to force myself to say something but my vocal chords seem to be stopping themselves. I clear my throat and try again.

"Stan.. Are you okay?" I ask. Oh my god. That was lame, even for me! I could've come up with something better than that, surely?

Stan shakes his head and scrunches his body up tighter. I hover my hand over his shoulder. Should I comfort him.. Or will that result in another fight?

Thinking that it cant hurt to try, I pat his shoulder tentatively. Stan seems to tense at my touch, but then relaxes. After a while I decide to give it another shot.

"Stan.. I'm sorry for shouting. What could have made you do that to Craig, though?"

"I just got so angry.. He is so arrogant and proud…" Stan says. I laugh, slightly.

"Yeah, he is quite arrogant, but that's not the reason is it?" I ask, removing my hand from his shoulder. He shakes his head, then looks at me and I can see small droplets of water in the corner of his eyes.

"It's just he was… proud. Un-caring. I guess I wanted to be as confident as he was. Maybe I did it out of jealousy. But, I swear. I wasn't planning it! It was like something took over me, I just had a burst of anger. That retard Marie was watching too, and laughing." Stan says, blinking and trying not to let the tears fall from his eyes.

"What do you mean by 'he was proud'?" I ask, slightly confused. Stan stays quiet for a few minutes, then rises and begins pacing up and down the patch of worn, brown grass in front of the log. Then he stops to face me.

"He doesn't care what anyone thinks. He has a reputation, but he doesn't care!" Stan implores. I stare back into his eyes.

"Stan. What do you mean?" I'm really confused now. What could Stan possibly mean? Craig is proud of everything.

"Don't you think he would have got bullied? The only reason people leave him alone and don't tease him about it is because he has two strong fists to defend himself with! If anyone gives him any cheek he just punches them!" Stan yells, throwing out his arms. "I don't have any reputation for being strong. I just have a popularity reputation and I would lose that in an instant if anyone found out!"

"Found out about what?" I ask.

"Tweek! Isn't it obvious?"

I look into his eyes, thinking about all the things he has just said. Stan is jealous of Craig because he is proud of something and this thing could affect his reputation.. The only thing that Craig has been proud of and that could screw up his reputation is…… Oh…

"You mean your.." I ask, tentatively. Stan nods, solemnly.

"But. Why are you telling me this? You hate me!" I say, cocking one of my eyebrows and looking at Stan.

"I.. I thought you would be the only one who would understand.." he says, looking pleadingly up at me. I smile.

"I do understand, Stan. So.. Who's the lucky guy?" I ask, attempting to brighten up the conversation. Stan looks mournfully at his feet.

"Oh. Does he not like you back?" I ask, feeling sympathetic.

"I haven't even asked him.." Stan mutters.

"Well.. Why don't you just ask him then?" I giggle.

"Because I know his answer already." Stan mumbles to his shoes.

"How? You can know someone's answer before you ask them, you'd have to be physic!" I say with a wave of my hand. There was a momentary silence then, until Stan spoke up.

"I can know someone's answer.. If that someone is my best friend.."

"Kyle?" I ask. I am quite shocked, but the pair have always been very close. Stan puts his head into his hands again and groans.

"How do you know his answer then?" I ask, probing further into Stan's emotions.

"Kyle isn't gay…" Stan mutters, his voice muffled through his hands.

"Hm.. I dunno.." I ponder. Stan looks at me with raised eyebrows and I wink.

About half an hour later, I am pushing Stan out of the lift. He is looking apprehensive but this is something he needs to do. In his sweating, shaking hands, he is clutching a black iPod. Craig's iPod. It still has some small droplets of Craig's blood on the back..

I lead Stan to Craig's Patient Room and push the door open quietly in case Craig is asleep. But find him propped up on his pillows flicking through the pages of an old magazine.

I step inside and I can feel a nervous Stan follow me and shut the door.

"Hey, Craig. How are you feeling?" I ask, resuming my seat next to Craig's bed.

"Yeah.. I'll live." Craig smiles, weakly.

Stan stumbles forward. Craig looks him up and down with raised eyebrows.

"I'm really sorry for beating you up, Craig. My emotions and my anger got the better of me. I was confused but Tweek has helped me. I'm really, really sorry." Stan says quickly, looking close to tears. Craig stays silent for a minute, staring at the quivering, raven-haired boy in front of him. But then he smiles and gestures for Stan to sit in the chair next to Tweek. Stan does so and grins. He hands the bloodstained iPod back to Craig. Craig takes it and immediately shoves the earphones into his ears and presses play. A dreamy expression spreads across his face and he lays back on his pillows with a sigh.

"Ah.. Linkin Park forever…"


	8. Chapter 8

Oh Jesus. Oh God! I should not have had that extra cup of coffee this morning. I can hardly hold my pencil!

Gah! Where is he? Please don't make me wait another day! I've been looking forward to this day for a whole week; I don't think I can bare to wait another full 24-hours.

I gaze, twitchily around the class. Cartman and Kenny are sat behind me talking to one another. Stan and Kyle are chatting to each other, over the other side of the room and Butters is shuffling his feet while talking to Clyde. God. It seems as though everyone has someone to talk to except me.

Where is he?!

I glance to the door and see a few younger students flitting around in the corridor outside. No blue hat, no black hair..

I realise just how much I miss him now. I miss his snort of barking laughter, his perfect almond shaped eyes, his scruffy black hair. I also miss his smell. He always smells of watermelons. I suppose it is his little sisters fault, as she always insists on getting her mom to buy the 'Kiddly Wink's Watermelon Scented Soap' (You know, the stuff you put in a washing machine) and his mom washes Craig's clothes with his sisters. So I suppose that's why he smells of watermelons. I'm not complaining though, I like it.

I glance to the door again and still see no-one. I decide to just turn round and talk to someone, I seem to be calm enough now as some of the 'coffee buzz' has worn off. I turn my body around on my chair and face the two people behind me; Cartman and Kenny.

When I turn, Kenny smiles at me, but Cartman groans.

"Hey, Tweekster." Kenny says, winking. "What's up?"

"N-nothing.. I'm j-just tired of waiting.." I say, twitching slightly. Damn coffee for tasting so good. Cartman leans back in his chair and clears his throat, impatiently. Kenny scowls at him then turns back to face me.

"Waiting for Craig?" Kenny asks. I rest my arms, folded, on the back of my chair, rest my head on them and nod.

"Missing all those faggot kisses are you, Tweek?" Cartman asks, looking at the ceiling. I flip him off, acting rather like Craig. Kenny rolls his eyes at Cartman.

"Just ignore him. He's in a mood." Kenny says, shifting his parka more comfortably around himself. Cartman sends him a glare of warning. Kenny raises a single eyebrow and Cartman relaxes again, looking at the ceiling once more.

"I'm not in a mood. I'm just pissed off!" he murmurs to the ceiling.

"Same thing." Kenny mutters, so only I can hear him.

Soon, Stan and Kyle make their way over to Kenny, Cartman and I. They bring their chairs with them and perch themselves next to Kenny.

"How's it hanging?" Stan asks in the middle of a yawn.

"Small and dry, in your case." Kenny answers, smirking. Stan rolls his eyes.

"I'll ask Tweek, then. At least he wont give me a perverted answer!" Stan pouts, facing me. "How are you Tweek?" He asks, in a posh English voice that pisses Kenny off. Kenny makes a face and kicks Stan gently with his foot.

"I'm fine. Just a little bored." I say, giving a small twitch, but at least I'm not stuttering.

"He'll be here soon, dude." Kyle says, giving me a wink. I guess everyone knows how much I love Craig. Well.. We don't exactly keep it to ourselves..

A little later, we are still chatting, the class is still waiting for our teacher to arrive, and I am still waiting for Craig. Things like this usually happen. We hardly ever have a teacher in social studies.. Our teacher, Mr. Turner, turns up to class once in a blue moon and when he does he is nearly as twitchy and paranoid as me, so we never learn anything… but as Craig always says; "Who needs social studies? I don't need to study how to be social! It comes naturally, retards!"

"So, Tweek. When was the last time you saw Craig?" Kenny asks me.

"When I went back with Stan. I stayed until visiting hours were over." I say.

"Why haven't you seen him since?" Kyle asks, looking up from his drawing book.

"The visiting hours are too late, apparently.. My mom wont let me out." I mutter.

"But he's important to you, can't you just talk to her?" Stan asks.

"No, because she doesn't know.." I say, quietly. Kyle and Kenny look shocked, Cartman looks un-caring, as always, and Stan looks… understanding. Well, he probably knows what I'm talking about. He's gay too and he must be having a hard time telling his parents!

"Your going to have to tell your parents some day, Tweek." Kyle says, fixing me with his stupid 'I can help' stare.

"I've just never got round to it." I lie, looking at my feet.

"I wonder if Craig has told his parents?" Kenny wonders aloud.

"Doubt it." Cartman mutters, startling us all. I'd actually forgotten he was there! "His dad's a red-neck, he'd probably start kicking the shit out of him - call him a fag and stuff."

I grunt and look at my feet again.

Suddenly, people around us begin to leave their seats. First, Pip gets up, then Clyde, then Butters, then Token, then all the girls! Soon, everyone except myself, Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are crowded around the door.

"What the hell?" Stan gasps, looking at the large majority of the class.

There are people giggling, gasping, asking questions and yelling, I can't hear what they're saying, though.

Stan and Kyle stand, and I do the same. We walk over to the doorway and try to push ourselves to the centre. The kids disperse quickly, letting us through. Something which shocks me slightly as I know this is something that they would never usually do (to me, especially).

I hear a bark of laughter.. And I know what, or rather who, is in the middle of this circle. I push past everyone in haste. I nearly knock poor Pip to the floor as I go. Muttering a quick 'Sorry!' I speed on.

Then, I see him. Grinning sheepishly at Token and looking very nervous to be in the centre of a crowd as big as this. Black hair. Blue hat.

Craig.

My heart warms as I see him. He looks skinnier than he did before - his already tight blue shirt is clinging to his body. I can see his blue cast, too. There are a few girls right at the front, signing it with large black markers.

Craig hasn't noticed me yet. I stand (slightly hidden by a giggling Wendy) staring at him and smiling my little blonde head off. As Craig and Token chat, Token's eyes wander over Craig's shoulder and rest on me. He taps Craig on the shoulder then points in my direction, giving me a slight wink. Craig turns and his blue gaze meets my green one.. The corners of his mouth up-turn and form into a massive grin. I smile back, feeling light headed and so, so happy.

Before I know it, I see Craig running at me, swinging his cast as he runs, knocking the girls signing his cast out of the way. Then I feel Craig's good arm throw it's self around my neck and his torso hits my own, slightly restricted by the cast, but I'm not complaining..

I hug Craig back, so glad to see him. The crowd lets out a quiet "Aww!" especially the girls. I hear Cartman make loud fake retching noises, but I don't care - I'm enjoying this hug too much. Having Craig back in my arms again is the most enjoyable experience I have had all week . . Better than coffee! Did I just say that?

I squeeze Craig tighter and breathe in the wonderful scent of watermelon on his clothes. Craig softly kisses my shoulder and I smile to myself, pulling him closer . . So close that if I were to pull him any closer, he would surely choke to death.

Once the bell to signal the end of lesson sounds, everyone heads outside as we have a free period next.

Craig is holding my hand - grasping so tight, as though he fears if he were to let go, I would slip away from him..

"Did I miss any homework?" Craig asks as we walk across the green field outside.

"Yeah, loads. English, maths, ar-" I begin, but Craig cuts into my list with a cheeky "Good.". I grin and we walk further across the field, past girls sat on the grass and boys messing around with a green tennis ball.

"Who's that?" Craig asks, pointing to one of the girls sat on the grass. I follow his finger and see who he is pointing at.

"Oh. That's Jay. She's new. She arrived here while you were in hospital." I say. Jay looks up at the mention of her name and sees Craig and I looking at her. She beams and waves, enthusiastically.

Over the next couple of days, myself and Craig make pretty good friends with Jay. She seems to like Craig a bit better than me, but I'm used to it - at least she doesn't hate me and at least I have Craig. Jay is really funny and talented. We went over to her house once and she showed us this little computer accessory called a 'tablet'. It's small and square. You plug it into your computer via a USB port and it allows you to draw pictures on your computer! If you ask me, it's all rather confusing, but Jay seems to understand it.

We walk to school together that morning, talking about random stuff as always.

"Yeah, but you've got to admit - you'd be a major retard to think the earth was flat! You'd fall off the edge!" Craig says, trying to sound intelligent. Jay ponders this for a moment then laughs. She pushes open the doors to the Science Block of school and skips down the corridor, her dark blonde hair bouncing as she goes. We arrive at Craig's classroom first. Jay is in the same science class as Craig, downstairs. Mine is upstairs, with Kyle and Stan. Jay twirls her way into the classroom, giving me and Craig a quick wave before she closes the door. Now Craig and I are alone in the strangely deserted corridor. We can't be that late - can we? I look at my watch. Agh. I have less than 5 minutes to get to my class!

"Craig. I better go. You know what Miss. Grane is like.. She'll murder me if I'm late!" I say, turning away and walking a couple of steps down the corridor, but Craig grabs my wrist and pulls me back.

"Not without giving me something to last me the day.." Craig says, pulling me closer. "You've hardly spent anytime alone with me all week."

"Aww.. Have I been starving you of affection, Craigie?" I ask, brushing a strand of black hair from his eyes. Craig nods with a melodramatic pleading expression. I giggle and Craig seems to take this as approval and he wraps both of his arms around me. He moves nearer to me but stops as still when our noses are just slightly touching.

Gah.. He's teasing me..

I try to move my head forward to make our lips meet but every time I get close enough, he moves his head back. He loves this game.. He loves seeing the look of frustration on my face. He says it's 'cute'. I move my hand to the back of his head and press my mouth against his own. Craig giggles slightly into my mouth slightly and returns my kiss.

Ahh.. Maybe this is why I missed him so much? Nah, only kidding.

He's been snacking before school again - he tastes of Ice Cream. As his tongue rolls into my mouth, a shiver of pleasure runs down my spine. He notices this and rubs his hand up and down my back, softly. I take my hand away from his head and place both of them around his slim waist. He moves closer and his kiss becomes more passionate. I happily receive it and hear his breath become more rushed. Then he breaks the kiss.

Obviously, he just remembered that we are stood outside a science classroom. He hugs me then kisses the skin just below my ear, seductively. I giggle and hug him back.

I feel like shouting "I LOVE MY LIFE!" at the top of my voice, but it will probably just freak people out..

Craig winks and backs towards his classroom door. I turn to leave but before I can take one step, he calls me back.

"Tweek?"

"Yeah?"

"What lesson do we have last today?" he asks, looking at the clock on his cell phone.

"I've got English, but you've got Maths." I tell him.

"Ah.. Damnit. Oh well, meet me at those blue lockers near the girl's bathroom at the end of school okay? I want to give you something."


	9. Chapter 9

I walk down the empty corridors after school. I always like to wait until most of the people have disappeared home, because I love to wander down empty corridors. You can be yourself! When you are walking from classroom to classroom, people stare at you.. They judge you when they don't even know you! Well, at least that's how it is with me..

I always notice all the minor details too. Like the lame posters they put up around.

I gaze at a nearby pink one. 'Can't isn't a word' Technically it's an abbreviation..

I can't remember where the lockers are.. I know this school back to front, but only the classrooms.. I don't find it important to remember where a certain set of blue lockers are.

I can, however, vaguely remember where the girl's bathroom is. If I have remembered rightly; I should turn down the end of this corridor then straight on.

I take a sharp right and gaze at my shoes, wondering what it is that Craig wants to give to me. Maybe it's jewellery, or coffee! Maybe it is something different.. Maybe it's a kiss.. Craig is rather perverted like that. I smile to myself and look up as I know I am nearing the lockers.

Then, I see a sight that hurts me more than anything has ever pained me before.

A boy, leant against a wall, his skinny, but muscular figure pressed against a girl's slim one. His hat is off and the girl is running her hands through his hair.

Jay and Craig.

Craig's hands are around Jay's waist. Her leg is bent, her toes pointing towards the ceiling. My world is black. All I can feel right now is a mixture of pain, anger, depression and confusion. I feel sick, too and completely empty. Like my heart wants to give in, climb up my throat and out of my mouth. All I can hear is the sound of my own heartbeat. Suddenly, a noise disturbs the make-out scene and makes all three of us jump.

My cell phone. I have a text. Good timing…

Craig glances in the direction of the noise and his mouth drops open. Jay looks at me too, but no look of compassion shows in her face, all I can see there is ice. Her gaze looks so sharp that it could shatter glass. Craig staggers forward looking confused.

"Tweek.. It's not.. It's not what it looks like!" Craig says, his voice crackling slightly as he moves closer to me.

"Yeah, neither are you, Craig!" I yell, backing away from his outstretched arms. "Is this what you wanted to show me? I get it Craig. Thanks for breaking it to me gently.." I mutter, trying to prevent my eyes from filling with tears. Craig takes a step closer to me, touching my arm, lightly with his hand. I jolt away from his touch and before he can utter another word, I speed out of the school, twitching furiously.

The cold air outside hits my watery cheeks and makes them sear with pain. I don't even bother to attempt to stem the flow of water streaming from my green eyes. I try to run as I do not want Craig caching up with me and talking to me. Telling me how sorry he is.

How fucking sorry.

I kick a bin as I run. My body feels too heavy for my legs and my head is swimming. I feel so, so sick. I need to stop and rest. My legs are hurting.

I stop at an alley way a few blocks from my home and stand against a wall in the dark next to a dirty dumpster. It would be nice to enter the warm glow of my front room, but not nice to endure the attack of questions and intrusions of my parents. I can't be bothered having any human contact at the moment for the simple reason that human contact hurts.

God, emotions suck.

Suddenly, I hear crunching footsteps and heavy breathing. I can't dart out from my hiding place, for whoever it is will surely see me, so I shuffle backwards into the shadow of the dumpster and hold my breath.

As the footsteps draw nearer I begin to see the tip of a large shadow appear on the snow in front of me, I also hear muttering that makes me sure of the figure's identity.

"Stupid Jew rat! I hope he chokes on his god-damn kosher food!"

Eric Cartman. No doubt about it.


	10. Chapter 10

As Cartman's sneering voice grows closer and closer, I shrink further and further backwards into the dark spot behind me. I don't really want to converse with this lump of a boy at the moment. Besides, he'd only laugh.

Then, Cartman protrudes into my vision. The mere sight of him makes me twitch. I try with all my might to control them but fail, as always. I shake violently and knock against the metal can behind me. Eric jumps in shock and turns to look into the darkness behind him. His eyes meet with mine and he frowns.

"Tweek.. Is that you?" he asks, furrowing his brow. I move out of the shadowy corner and settle my self comfortably on the wall. He's spotted me now - there's nothing I can do. I will just have to try to get rid of him a soon as possible. I nod and he re-traces his steps to lean on the wall at my side.

"What are you doing down here? Where's Craig?" he asks. I am about to respond when the streetlight, giving us a small amount of light in the alley way, flickers and dies.

"Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about being seen with you." Cartman mutters with a slight, evil laugh. I'm not sure whether to laugh or not, so I give a small non-committal grunt.

"So why are you down here?" Eric asks again.

"I'm angry.. I need to be alone to cool down." I say through gritted teeth and twitching. Cartman lets out a splutter of cackling laughter.

"Angry? You?! Your practically scared of anger!" he says, giggling madly. I glare to my left. I can't see his features but I know he is looking at me. I can feel his cold, brown eyes digging into my skin.

"I'm not." I mumble after a short silence. I hear Cartman shuffle and I feel him press closer to me as a man passes the alley way.

"Why you so angry?" he asks quietly after he makes sure the man is out of hearing range. I ponder my answer for a moment. On one hand - I can tell Eric and get it off my chest, and on the other hand - I can keep it to myself and stay depressed forever.

Cartman isn't really the perfect person to pour your heart out to, but admittedly - he has been awfully compassionate these past few weeks. He has still been insulting people, but the insults have been less hurtful.. He always looks so caring, too..

I go over what I am going to tell him. I can remember every second.. Every heart-breaking second. Jay.. Craig.. Making out in front of me. The thing that makes me the most angry is the fact that Craig told me to meet him there because.. He had something to show me.

Talk about letting a guy down gently?

Tears start to slowly drip from my eyes, catching on my eyelashes and forcing me to blink which encouraged more tears.

I don't understand why he would do something like that. Why he would lie to me - telling me every day how much he loves me.. We were best friends for years.. Doesn't that mean anything? I suddenly remember that Eric is waiting for an answer.

I try to tell him but my voice cracks and my eyes are hurting.

"C..Cre..Cra.." I stutter. Then, before Cartman can even attempt to work out what I just said; I break down into tears, throw myself into his arms and begin to sob into his chest.

At first Cartman tries to squirm away, grasping me by my arms and trying to prise me off his body, but I stay there, sobbing into the red jacket he always wears. Finally, he stops clawing at me and puts his arms around me, squeezing me in a tight hug.

Wait a second..

Is Cartman.. ERIC CARTMAN, the biggest homophobe on the planet, hugging a gay guy?

Even though all these facts are racing through my head, I still clutch tight to his chest - enjoying the feeling of someone's arms around me again. Then, I hear a hearty sniff. I look up to see Eric.. Crying! Fuck me! Eric Cartman is crying! What the hell is going on?!

"Eric?" I ask, tentatively, trying not to make him angry. To my surprise, he doesn't get angry. Instead, he lets go of me, then leans against the wall behind him and attempts to stop the small trickles of water falling from his eyes.

"I just feel so.." he croaks, wiping his face dry with the back of his hand.

"Feel so what?" I ask him. Cartman pauses for a second, obviously looking for the perfect word.

"Lonely." Eric mutters, finally. I give him a confused look, and even though I know he can't see me, he answers my silent question.

"I mean.. Kyle has his faggy best friend Stan, Kenny has.. Anyone he wants.. Butters has his life.. And you have Craig. I'm the only one who doesn't have anyone." he says, angrily.

"Actually, I don't have anyone anymore.. I caught Craig kissing Jay." I mumble, attempting to prevent a further flood from my green eyes. Cartman stays quiet for a moment.

"Do you feel confused, Tweek?" he asks, quietly. That's exactly how I feel! How the hell did he know that?!

"Yeah.." I mutter. Cartman moves a touch closer to me, using a kick of his foot as a distraction. I look at his face. He is so close now, I can see his features perfectly now. I stare into his deep brown eyes. Suddenly, something warms me and I see Craig in front of me, leaning in for our first kiss. I lean in and our lips meet. Craig's hand wanders up my shirt and he pushes me back against the large metal wall of the dumpster. I put my hand on his neck and he rubs my stomach. Craig's tongue rolls into my mouth and I let it in, gladly. Craig leaves one of his hands gently caressing my stomach and the other wanders over the waistband of my jeans and down my leg. I moan into the kiss and Craig bites down softly on my bottom lip. His hand stops rubbing my leg and comes to a stop on my ass. I continue kissing Craig and stroking his face. Craig's hand wanders to the front of my jeans and I feel his manhood against my thigh. I shiver and Craig pulls me closer.

Then.

I open my eyes.

And I see my Craig has turned into Cartman. Craig was never there.

Cartman kissed me. Cartman snaked his hand up my shirt. Cartman felt my arse.

I feel disgusting. I feel horrible and I feel sick.

Cartman is still holding me in his arms. I pull away from him.

"What's wrong?" he asks, with the look of a child that has just had a piece of candy taken from it.

"I can't do this.." I stammer. My head is swimming. My legs feel so weak.. "I need to go home." I gurgle. Cartman looks at me for a moment.

"What do you mean? Will I see you tomorrow?" Cartman asks, with the same deprived look on his face. I shake my head and then stop as I am near to vomiting.

I run from the alley way and stagger home.

I wander inside my warm house, still feeling sick.

"Hello, son. How was your day?" My mothers voice asks me from the kitchen.

Then. Everything goes black.


	11. Chapter 11

I open my eyes what feels like seconds later. My vision is slightly blurred. I blink a few times, rub my eyes and sit upright. My mother is sat beside me with a damp sponge in her hands. She has obviously been cooling my forehead, as small droplets of water are slowly trickling from a clump of hair in front of my eyes. My mother shoots in to life as soon as I rise.

"Tweek! Oh, baby. Are you alright?" she asks, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I nod and lick my lips - making them fit for speech.

"I can't.. I can't remember.. What happened?" I croak, cracking the joints in my neck as I look round. I'm on the couch in my living room with a blanket over my overly-skinny body. There is a large bowl on the floor next to me. My mother must have thought I was going to throw up.

"You came wandering in about three hours ago. I asked you how you were, then there was a loud bang, and when I came to see what it was - I found you on the floor!" my mother tells me, pointing to the doorway where she found me. "I thought you were drunk."

"Gah! Mom! I don't drink!" I tell her, imploringly. I massage my aching head and strain to remember what happened. I remember being angry.. Really, really angry, but also very sad and confused.. I fainted at the doorway.. Why? I tap my head as if trying to knock the thought into place. The only thing I achieve, however, is another painful twang from my head. I close my eyes and try to visualise the events of my day.

School.. Detention for knocking paints over in art.. End of School..

A massive vision of Craig and Jay entwined in each other explodes inside my head. The sickly, angry feeling returns and I clutch my stomach. My mother quickly holds the bowl up to my chin. I don't throw up. My stomach ache is more painful than anything. I lean back on the couch and my mother dabs my forehead with the cloth again. It sooths my pulsing temples but it doesn't take away the churning feeling in my belly.

"I'll go and get a new cloth.." My mother says, standing up.

"No mom, it's okay. I just need.. A cup of coffee, please.." I tell her with my eyes closed. I hear her bustle into the kitchen and I let out a sigh. The vision of Craig and Jay is still flashing through my mind, stabbing my heart more painfully each time. Tears begin to well in my eyes. Slowly, the vision behind my closed eyes begins to change. Craig shrinks slightly and his hair turns an electric shade of blonde. He grows immensely skinny and his clothes change too. Jay grows fatter and fatter and fatter and then the venue of the school completely changes to that of an alley way. Craig has turned into me and Jay has turned into… Cartman..

My eyes slam open and with a gasp of horror, I remember what I did. Tears flood from my eyes as a wave of guilt washes over me. I feel like I have done Craig wrong..

i"But he wronged you first.."/i a small voice in my head pipes up.

i"I know, but that doesn't stop me loving him!"/i I scream at the voice in my own skull.

i"And your not going to forgive him?"/i the voice asks, reading my thoughts.

i"No."/i I tell the voice, defiantly. i"I can't take his lies. That would only make it hurt more.."/i At that moment, my mother walks in holding a warm cup of coffee in my favourite mug.

The next day, I wander into school talking to no-one. Suddenly, as I close my locker and begin down the corridor, I am attacked from behind by Stan. Giving me a big, tight hug. I squeak and drop one of my books in shock. When Stan sees this he lets go. I pick up my book and turn to face him.

"What was that for?" I ask, staring at the massive grin slapped across Stan's face.

"Everything!" he squeals. "Everything you've done to help me. Thanks to you - I am now the happiest guy alive!"

"Uh.. What did I do?" I ask, twitching and completely muddled by this whole ordeal.

"Kyle!" Stan says, shaking me and still bearing the same large smile. "I told Kyle! And Tweek.. He likes me back! HE LIKES ME! Isn't that awesome?!"

I grin at Stan and nod. "Yeah, Stan. That's totally awesome."

Stan's smile grows and he leaves, heading down the corridor in the opposite direction towards a slim boy.. With a green hat..

When I get to class - I know that Lady Luck is not shining on me today. I walk inside to find Craig and Cartman sat directly at the front of the class and, to make matters worse, they are bboth/b sat in front of bmy/b seat. I groan to myself and squeeze past them both without looking at them. However, I can feel their eyes watching me as I silently sit down. I don't look up. I simply continue to stare at the mass of graffiti on the table top.

Once everyone has arrived, Mr. Green shuts the door and stands before us.

"Today, class, we are going to learn about feelings. I am going to pull one name out of this hat and the person who's name I call will get to the front. No hesitations! Your classmates will then say good or bad things about you. After, we will try to sort out how to try and change all the bad things!" He says, to the class. We all sit, bemused by our teacher's words. Great. The one time I want to stay quiet and un-noticed in a class and we end up doing something retarded like this.

"And the first name is…" Mr. Green says dramatically. He rummages about in the black hat and pulls out a small strip of paper. "Kyle!" he exclaimed holding the strip of paper up for the class to see. The class cheers as Kyle gets to his feet and wanders to the front. He seems much happier and self-confident than usual. He stands at the front, leaning against the wall behind him.

A few students raise their hands in the air and they are picked to speak one by one, by Mr. Green. First, he picks Stan. Coincidence?

"I think Kyle is funny, kind, sweet and smart, but sometimes he can be a little to smart." Stan said, winking coolly at Kyle. Kyle returned the gesture and grinned.

Person after person was picked to say their feelings towards the auburn haired boy in front of us. Then person after person was picked to stand at the front. Finally, the ominous waiting dread was kicked up a level as Mr. Green yelled "Tweek!"

I raise out of my seat and make my way to the front, shyly. I avoid the two boys at the front. Craig and Cartman. Was it coincidence that the two boys who I wanted to avoid most were both sat directly in front of me… with their hands raised..

Mr. Green picked Butters first.

"Well, I think Tweek is a really nice guy, but he sometimes scares me in art class when he knocks the paints over and stuff." he says, giving me an apologetic smile. I smile weakly back and Mr. Green picks another person. I don't look at who it is, I look at the dirty green carpet.

"Tweek is amazing. The only word I can use to describe Tweek is electric. Electric personality, electric looks, electric brain. He is a wonderful person who deserves nothing but perfection. There is no fault with Tweek what so ever."

The whole class remains silent. Everyone is staring at the person who had just recited those amazing compliments. I know who just said that.

Craig.

I look up to see him looking straight at me, with an unmistakable look of honesty in his eyes. My heart warms and I feel butterflies in my stomach.

i"Hey.. I thought you were angry at him?"/i the little voice yells at me.

i"Oh, fuck off."/i

After class, I feel lighter than ever before.. I am still angry at Craig, but his words have tickled my heart and made it feel so warm. I wander outside, my head swimming and buzzing. Then, I feel a hand grab my wrist and spin me round. Craig.

"Tweek. Can I talk to you?" he asks.


	12. Chapter 12

I hitch a frown onto my face and nod. Regardless of what Craig said in class, I'm still angry at him. He smiles weakly and then looks at the watch on his wrist.

"We have a free period next, right?" he asks, nervously shifting his blue hat more comfortably on his head. I nod again and he takes off down the corridor. I follow, trying to keep at the same pace as him. This is virtually impossible as Craig is good at sports and has a much faster step than me. The way he dodges between students is amazing. I slip into a slight daydream as I run, watching Craig lean from side to side, arching his back, ducking and pressing himself against walls.

I snap out of the dream world when I feel a sharp pain shoot up my leg. I realise that I have zigzagged towards a wall and knocked into a trashcan. Craig turns his head to check on me as my face turns a deep pink. I rub my leg and proceed down the corridor, following the bobbing dot of blue that is Craig.

Craig finally stops when he gets to the bottom of a flight of stairs. I meet him there an give him a quizzical look. The study hall is another floor up, not down. For an answer, he grabs my wrist and leads me to a door under the stairs. He shoves a small key into the lock, turns it clockwise and the door swings open. He grabs my wrist again and tugs me into the dark room. He flicks a nearby switch and the lights flicker into life. He then closes the door and locks it. It is a medium sized room - large enough to seat around 5 people comfortably. The walls are painted a deep purple colour which matches the cushions on the floor. There are round 6 cushions and four small chairs in the room, along with a table and two large storage boxes in the corner.

Craig wanders to one of the chars and crashes down onto it. He removes his hat and runs his fingers through his own jet black hair. I stand, silently by the locked door and gaze round the room, glancing now at Craig now and again.

"This used to be the anger-management room before they made the new one." Craig murmurs through his hands, answering my un-asked question. "I stole the key. So I use it as my private chill room.."

"Now I know where you used to disappear off to at lunch." I mumble, a slight giggle in my voice. Craig looks at me through his slender fingers and I gaze back at him, trying to hide any emotions that my eyes may want to show. I try to stay completely dead-pan but it is proving a hard battle to fight.

"I'm sorry, Tweekie.." Craig says, quietly, still staring at me with his mysterious gray eyes. My heart flutters when he calls me that - but I can't show it on my face. I'm still angry with him… At least I think I am..

"Yeah, well… apologies are always taken for granted.." I mutter, fixing him with my best 'angry stare'. Craig moves his hands from his face and looks at me, pleadingly.

"Can't we just talk about this?" Craig asks.

"What is there to talk about? You kissed Jay right in front of me after we have been dating for about a month, which totally crushed our relationship and our friendship, and the worst thing about this whole ordeal is that you asked me to meet you there! You basically told me to come and watch you and Jay eat the faces off of each other! Was that your idea of telling me it's over nicely?" I yell. We both remain silent while I catch my breath. "There's nothing else that you or I can say now, is there? So unlock that door and let me get on with my life. Alone." I gasp. The last sentence that left my mouth hurt so much. I don't want to live without Craig, but all I can see when I look at him is that horrible vision of him kissing Jay.

Craig sits, completely still and looking rather shocked for a while. Admittedly, I would be shocked if I was him. After all, yelling isn't really my thing..

Craig picks at one of his fingernails absent-mindedly, while looking at a spot slightly to the left of one of my feet. He is blinking slowly with his mouth slightly open. But soon, he licks his lips, shuffles more comfortably in his seat and looks at my face.

"I won't open the door." he says, plainly.

"Why the hell not?!" I screech, frowning. Craig leans back in his seat, coolly and folds his arms.

"Because I want to tell you what happened." he says, calmly.

"GAH! I know exactly what happened! I was there, you idiot! You invited me to watch your make-out scene and it ruined my life!" I say, twitching. Great.. He's made my twitches come back. Craig shakes his head.

"What you saw was - like I said after it happened - Not what it looked like." Craig says, slowly. I furrow my brow.

"How the hell does that work? I saw you kiss her. I saw your hand on her waist! You can't wriggle out of this one, Craig." I hiss.

"Well, if you'd let me speak, I could tell you." Craig replies. I say nothing and simply glare at him. Craig wait's a while, then continues.

"I told you to come and meet me because I had something to give to you. Jay saw me when she was walking past and stopped to talk to me. She started to get really flirty and she started saying how much she liked me. I told her that I was loyal, and that I loved you but she wouldn't listen to me. She kept telling me she loved me. I tried to let her down gently. I told her that I just wanted to be friends, but she started crying. I felt bad so I started to comfort her.. I sorta patted her on the back. Then, before I knew it, I was being pushed against a wall and Jay started kissing me! The only reason I had one of my hands on her waist was that I knew she was ticklish, so I thought that might make her let go.. I know it's a pretty retarded idea but my mind was in shock! Then you appeared." Craig tells me, kicking his foot lightly against the leg of his chair. I take a moment to consider this story. It seems pretty truthful..

"If you told me to meet you there to give me something, then you would have had it with you!" I say, narrowing my eyes. Craig rummages in his bag and pulls out a brown paper bag with something inside it.

"I did and I still do! I've been carrying it around with me ever since. It's important to me and I thought it might be important to you too." Craig says, handing the package to me. I take it and feel that it is slightly heavy and square. I unfold the top of the bag and pull out the square object.

It's a picture. A beautiful wooden frame, painted green. I run my fingers over the carvings of trees chiselled out of the wood. In the centre is a picture of a raven boy and a blonde one. Holding hands and grinning at each other. Me and Craig. It's the picture Kyle took when we went for a walk with him. I told Craig how much I loved that picture and he brushed it off. He was obviously planning this! The ice that ripped my heart in two when I saw Jay and Craig melts and my heart mends. I look at Craig and smile.

"The frame was the same frame that my first baby picture was put in." Craig says, smiling back at me. "I trust you, Tweek. That's why I wanted to give it to you. I know you may not trust me anymore, but just know that I don't love Jay. I love you."

He sighs and walks over to the door, then unlocks it and pushes it open. "You can leave now. I've said all I've had to say."

I walk over to the open exit and pause for a second, still clutching the wooden frame. Craig looks at me and I look at him. Before I can stop myself, I find my self throwing my arms around Craig's neck and hugging him tighter than ever before. Craig freezes for a second then wraps his arms around me and sighs.

This feels right. I like his slim figure, it's so easy to hug him, unlike.. Cartman. Craig attempts to pull away but I grasp tighter to the back of his shirt.

"I'm not done yet." I whisper in his ear. He gives a slight giggle and tightens his hold on me.

When we finally break, Craig looks at me, smiling.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" he says, brushing a few blonde strands out of my face. I beam at him and give an enthusiastic nod. Craig lets out a relieved sigh and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. A shiver runs down my spine. I missed his soft lips against my skin. I missed everything about him. Craig then moves the kiss across to my lips. I bespecially/b missed this. I press my lips more firmly against his. As he smothers me with soft kisses, my head and heart go all warm and fuzzy. My fingers start to tingle and I place my hands on Craig's waist. He runs one of his fingers up and down my back slowly. I open my mouth before Craig's tongue has to beg for entrance. It enters, regardless and begins to explore.

--

I lay on the park bench with my head in Craig's lap. The very same bench that I woke up on, freezing my ass off after I told Craig. Craig, however still doesn't know that small piece of history and I would rather keep it that way.

"You know… I feel so, so happy." Craig says, stroking my hair, slowly.

"And why is that?" I ask, smiling up to his face. He looks down at me.

"Because I have you." he says. Corny line, but it was still sweet. I smile and close my eyes. The feeling of Craig's fingers brushing through my hair makes me shiver. His touch is so gentle and loving. I think he is just perfec-

"Excuse me?"

I open my eyes to see Jay standing in front of us, looking nervous. Craig's fingers stop running through my hair and I frown and raise into a sitting position.

"What do you want?" I ask. Craig rests his hand on mine and slips his fingers around it. Jay looks from my face to Craig's.

"I wanted.. I wanted to apologise." She says, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I really didn't know what I was doing when I kissed you, Craig.. It was just.. The spur of the moment, I guess. I don't love you and I didn't mean to hurt your relationship with Tweek. I know you will probably never want to see me again, but I would love it if we could still be friends. I am unbelievably sorry." Jay finishes with a look of deep sorrow and honesty in her heart. Craig looks at me and I look down to my feet.

"How do we know your not just trying to split us up again?" I mutter to my shoes.

"Well, I kind of like someone else.." Jay says, giggling. I look up to see her blushing and looking behind her. In the distance is a slender blonde boy wearing a light blue t-shirt with a 'Hello Kitty' emblem on the back. He is sat on a bench, gazing up at the trees. Butters. I smile and look at Jay.

"Sure, Jay. We can be friends. I forgive you." I say, then I look to Craig. He pauses to think for a moment, looking from me, to Jay, to the silhouette of Butters.

"Yeah. We can be friends.." he says, finally. Jay makes a happy squeaking noise and beams.

"Thanks, guys! I feel tons better!" and with that, Jay disappeared into the distance to meet up with a certain blonde.

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13

Dear Journal.

So it is now 7 months since Craig and I got back together. We have been going strong for all this time and I really feel confident around him. I hope that we will stay together forever. I never want him to leave my side.

I told my parents about my long-term relationship with Craig yesterday morning. I didn't write to you about it because I was at Craig's house afterwards.

I told them after breakfast was over. As usual - I was shaking like mad. I practically blurted it out over my empty cereal bowl.

Surprisingly, they weren't shocked, or angry. They said "We have expected something like that, honey. You haven't exactly had many girlfriends, have you?"

Any? Try none.

Then came the hard part. Telling them about Craig.

It took me a long time to force my mouth open, let alone tell them! The little voice in my head kept screaming at me and trying to persuade me not to tell them, but I ignored it. I'm getting a lot better at doing that.

When I finally managed to tell them that I was dating Craig, they were happy for me! It doesn't seem like my family anymore. I never expected my parents to accept me like this, but I'm not complaining!

They already knew Craig was gay. Craig told his father ages ago and Craig's parents told mine about it.

I am so happy. I have all my friends on my side now. I have Craig, and I'm also slightly happy that Jay is our friend. She's started dating Butters, too. I hope she will be as happy as I am.

Oh no! I have to go!

I promised Craig that I would meet him at his house! He has something to ask me and he said it was important.

Sorry, Journal. I will write tomorrow!

Tweek.

--

I rap my knuckles hard on Craig's door and wrap my arms around my body again, stopping the cold air blowing up my shirt.

I see a black shape of a woman (distorted against the frosted glass) head towards the door and tug it open.

"Hello, Tweek!" she says, smiling warmly.

"Hi." I squeak through my chattering teeth. I edge closer to the doorway, letting the heat from inside warm my face.

"Come on in. Craig's up in his room."

I knock on Craig's door and wait for an answer. I hear nothing except the slight humming of IPod headphones. I knock harder on the door. Still no answer. I decide to let myself in. Craig and I are so close, I'm sure he won't mind. I push his red door open and peer inside.

His room is quite big and very spaced out. A large table bearing his CD player, Radio, IPod docking station and laptop is just to my left, while a few storage boxes containing his CD collection are piled in the corner to my right. His double bed is shoved up to the furthest wall and on it, with his eyes closed, is Craig. He is sleeping.

Who falls asleep listening to screaming rock music? Craig does.

I slowly and carefully step over to his bed. I count my lucky stars that none of Craig's floorboards creak. When I reach the form of Craig, I pull up a chair, as quietly as I can and perch myself on it.

--

I snap out of a kind of reverie, realising that I had been staring at Craig's amazing, beautiful face for countless minutes. I grin at my love-struck attitude and slump more comfortably in my seat, but as I do, I knock the side of Craig's bed. It shakes slightly and Craig stirs. He slowly rubs his eyes, yawns and sits up. I bite my lip, and stay as quiet and as still as I can, hoping that he won't be angry. Craig's headphones fall from his head as he turns to look towards me.

"Hey.." he mumbles, with a slight note of tiredness in his voice, but smiling. I breathe a sigh of relief and smile back. Craig shifts himself over to the other side of the bed and pats the space next to him, silently asking me to lay beside him. I kick my shoes off and drop on to the blue bed. I notice that it is still warm from Craig's body being there a moment before as I snuggle myself down onto the pillows and breath a long, cooling, relaxed sigh. Craig snakes his hand under my neck and over my shoulders, pulling me closer to him.

"Sorry I fell asleep." Craig says, nuzzling my head with his nose. I smile at him as best I can in this situation.

"No problem.. I was a bit late anyway. Didn't you have something to ask me?" I ask, holding his arm, lovingly. Craig clicks his tongue.

"It can wait." he replies, winding a strand of my hair around his finger. I close my eyes and snuggle up to his chest. As Craig continues to wind his finger round my hair, I play back all the things that have happened between myself and Craig.

It has been a bloody long time, but I know that it is perfect now. I feel safe around him and I have stopped twitching as much, too. Craig has really brought out many good things in my life and for that, I thank him.

Moments pass with Craig and I curled in each others arms before Craig gives me a quick kiss on the forehead and sits up. He crawls over me, off the bed and wanders over to his desk. He sits on the creaky chair and lifts the screen of his laptop upwards. I stretch my arms above my head and watch him as he logs in and loads the internet.

After a while of silence between us, I speak up.

"Craig. What are you doing?" I ask, watching him clicking. He moves across in his chair and hides the screen from me.

"Just looking for something." Craig, mumbles, covering the screen with his back. I furrow my brow and sit up, my legs dangling over the bed.

"Looking for what?" I ask, suspiciously.

"Something to do with what I had to tell you." Craig says, clicking fast. I move over to his side and sit on a char, trying to peer at the screen, but he turns the laptop round so I cannot see what he is looking at. I sigh and look around his room until he shouts "Yes!". It startles me and I nearly fall off of my chair.

"What is it?" I ask, regaining my self-composure. Craig closes the screen of the laptop and looks at me.

"Meet me at China Fantasy tonight, okay?" he asks, quickly. There is a gleam of excitement behind his eyes.

"Uh.. Sure!" I say, laughing at his eagerness.

--

Craig and I push open the double doors and enter into the Chinese-style decorated restaurant. Immediately we are greeted by out usual waiter, Won. Myself and Craig always go to China Fantasy together as we know that none of the people who work there are homophobic.

"Good afternoon!" Won exclaims, with excellent English skills for a Chinese dude. Craig bids him a good afternoon in return and Won leads us to our usual table. The restaurant is practically empty, apart from a young blonde boy, eating soup in the corner. We sit down parallel from each other and order number 5 as always. Won wanders to the kitchen and gives the order to the chef.

Once we had eaten and drank all we could manage, Craig beckons for me to lean closer to him. I lean across the table and he lowers his voice.

"You know I love you so much, Tweek." he says.

"I love you too, Craig." I say, smiling.

"I'm sorry for everything that happened in our past. I only want to make you happy because you make me happy. I love you more than I love… music!" Craig says, honestly. Wow. That's a lot. Craig is obsessed with music. If someone stole his access to music, I'm sure he would curl up in a ball and die.

"I love you more than coffee!" I say, giggling. Craig laughs then takes hold of both my hands over the table.

"I've got something important to ask you.." he mutters. Finally. I've been waiting for this for hours. The suspense nearly killed me!

"Sure.." I say, wondering what it could possibly be. Craig raises from his seat and walks over to the side of mine. What the hell is he doing?

Then. He gets down on one knee. Oh my god. Is he….?

He rummages in his pocket and pulls out a small box. Oh my god. I really need a coffee now..

He then opens the box and looks at me. In the box is a single shining band of silver with a small emerald in the centre. A ring. Oh Jesus..

"Tweek. Would you make me the happiest dude alive and become… my husband?" Craig says, grinning his amazing grin. My heart skips a couple of beats and those last two words echo inside my head. My husband. My husband. My husband.

"Well, don't just sit here like an idiot! Say something!" the voice inside my head squeals. It is a much nicer, soothing voice now. Not snappy and angry like it used to be.

"What should I say?!"

"Well, 'Yes' might be a good start." the voice mumbles, sarcastically.

"GAH!" I squeak, breathlessly at Craig.

"I sincerely hope that was a yes." Craig says, laughing but looking quite worried. I nod vigorously and Craig stands up. He wraps his arms around me and we squeeze each other with joy. The kitchen staff, waiters and even the young blonde in the corner begin to clap and cheer. We grin around at them and then Craig places both his hands and gives me the biggest, most passionate kiss to date.

--

Jesus.

Jesus.

Jesus!

Oh my god.

I am stood in a room. In a tuxedo. Looking at myself in a mirror. ON MY WEDDING DAY.

MY wedding day.

I've seriously got to cool down.. I drank way to much coffee this morning, in an attempt to calm my nerves, but it did the exact opposite. I was twitching so much that my mother had to knot my tie for me. She also fastened my buttons, as I have always been hopeless at that and she wanted me to look my best. Craig undoubtedly looks amazing, even though I haven't seen him since last night. He told me that he was on the computer to look for a vicar who would give us a civil-partnership. There were other vicars, but Craig wanted Vicar Harris, and him only. His services cost considerably more, but Craig said that we deserved the best on our special day.

My father knocks on the door a while later and opens it, beaming at me.

"You ready, son?" he asks. I get to my feet and walk over to the door.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I squeak, trying to breathe steadily. My father gives me an encouraging pat on the back.

"Everything will go perfectly, son. I know it." he says, giving me a brief one-armed hug. I smile weakly and follow him down a vary of corridors to the front of the church. It is slightly windy outside as we walk along the gravel paths. As we reach the massive oak doors, I hear incoherent babbling from the hall inside. The two door attendants are smiling at me and one of them mouths "Good luck." to me. I nod in thanks and check my tie. Dad pats my hand away.

"Tweek, you look fine. Stop messing!" he says, grinning. I twitch some more and look to the doors.

A hush comes over the chatting inside as the vicar demands silence. My stomach flips and I shiver, half with excitement, half with nerves.

The door attendants give me a quick thumbs up before nodding at each other and pushing the large doors open.

The faces of everyone in the hall turns towards me and my father as 'Here comes the bride - Rock version' plays through the speakers. It was a special request by Craig himself. He wanted to 'bring a little life into the whole wedding experience'.

My father and I proceed forwards down the isle, me with slightly shaking legs. I see Craig's grandmother and grandfather sat at the back of the hall to the left, fronted by the rest of his family, including his sister, mother and father. On the right, is my family. My grandparents, godparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and then, finally, my mother. Then proceeds the people that Craig and I invited. Jay and Butters, both beaming and waving. Token, Clyde and all the others from school who had begun to like me since Stan did. Then Kyle and Kenny grinning from the front of the hall. I cast my eyes to the front and see Vicar Harris, standing at the altar. Stan, holding the two rings on a blue velvet cushion. And Craig. My perfect Craig. Looking more amazing than I predicted. I get to the front to stand beside Craig. You know when some people have butterflies in their stomach? Well, right now I have the whole bloody zoo stomping around in my insides. Craig grabs my hand and gives it a tight squeeze of reassurance. I grin, twitchily as the vicar begins to read from his notes.

I take in every word the vicar says with immense concentration.

"…to be together for ever. Does anyone present in the church today have any reason why these two should not be wed? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I OBJECT!"


	14. Chapter 14

My heart stops as I recognise the voice instantly. I turn around slowly and see all the heads in the room look to the back of the hall in one massive wave. A large figure raises from his pew. Standing resolutely upright, he throws his head backwards, an evil grin slapped across his fat face. Framed rather ominously in the light of the bright, breezy day wafting through the door, he starts to wander in a direct, meaningful line…towards me.

Eric Cartman.

In one swift moment, I feel a cocktail of all the negative emotions in existence. Anger, Sadness, Anxiety, Sickness, Loss, Despair..

What the hell is he doing here? He can't be that screwed up can he? 

I look to Craig and see him shooting Eric a livid glare. Oh shit. If he's angry now - Imagine what he's going to be like when and if Cartman tells him. Then again, Eric might keep it a secret.. Who the hell am I kidding? He wouldn't be interrupting my wedding if he wasn't going to tell. He's going to ruin this for me. Ruin everything good about my life. He'll tell every person who knows me about the minute I shared with him. He knows it was unintentional, but that won't stop him telling the dirty and screwing up yet another life. Everyone is muttering like mad and I see Stan, our best man, throwing confused looks from me, to Craig, to Eric and back again. I look to the floor, avoiding the gaze of the onlookers, guilt swirling like a whirlwind in my stomach

Eric slowly stomps down the aisle, staring straight at me with his icy brown eyes. As he does so, I feel my body start to shake with fear. Craig strokes my hand with his thumb and gives it a squeeze, as if to say "Don't worry - I'll sort this out.". 

Cartman reaches the second row of pews and stands in front of Craig and I. 

"Hey there, Tweek." he says, so quietly it is barely audible. 

"What do you want?" Craig snaps before I can even think of a retaliation, let alone say one. Eric raises his eyebrows, coolly and with out moving his gaze from my eyes, he says the worst three words that could be said in this situation.

"I want Tweek." 

My stomach drops into the lower regions of my body and my heart tears it's self in two again. It hurts more the second time. To my surprise, Craig doesn't seem angry.

"Well, he's sort of busy now, so get out of this church right now before I kick your fat face in." Craig spits, anger lines forming on his forehead. Cartman laughs a high, evil chuckle that reverberates through the large church.

"You don't understand Craig. Don't you realise why I have an objection?" Eric asks, stepping up onto the alter to stand between us and therefore, breaking our entwined hands. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" Craig growls. 

"You two can't be together." Cartman sneers. I edge slowly backwards, trying to stay as far away from Cartman as I can. Craig folds his arms and fixes Eric with a really annoyed gaze.

"Of course we can be together. Anyway, who are you to say who can be with who?" Craig snaps, trying to push Cartman off the alter. He stays stock still, his arms crossed over his chest. He slowly strides around me and to my other side.

"You wont want to be with Tweek after I tell you what he did." Cartman says, lowering his tone again to that of a near whisper. Craig shoots me a questioning glance, but before I can answer, Cartman cuts across me. "Tweek can't love you anymore. He loves me." 

The crowd in the hall gives a loud, shocked gasp. Craig looks at me with a look of fear and confusion. I plead to him with my eyes.

"What do you mean?" Craig asks Cartman, but still keeping his eyes fixed on me. 

"Your boyfriend was kissing me in a dark alley on the day that he saw you and that whore, Jay at it in the corridors!" Eric yells, loudly and quickly. Jay stands up from her seat and shouts words of insults towards Cartman as the rest of the people begin to mumble to each other. 

Craig simply gazes at me. I can see that this time, it is his heart that is breaking. I hold up my hand to beg to be excused and grab Craig's wrist. I pull him out of the Main Hall into a small off-side room. There are four chairs lined up to the wall on the furthest side of the room. I sit on one and pat the chair next to me, silently asking Craig to seat himself. He doesn't move. He simply stands where I left him, looking utterly lost and empty. 

"Look, Craig. What happened that day meant nothing to me! I was confused and angry. The only reason I kissed him was because I imagined it was you. I saw your face there, not his. I promise you Craig.. You have to believe me." I plead, getting up and walking over to him. He remains, staring at the tiled floor. 

This is the worst feeling in my life. Now I know what Craig was feeling as he tried to prove that he didn't kiss Jay intentionally. I touch his arm, apprehensively and to my delight, he doesn't recoil. I rub it gently with my palm and with my other hand, I lift his head upwards so I his eyes meet mine. 

"Please believe me, Craig. I wouldn't.. I promise." I mutter, looking into his enigmatic eyes. Craig moves his head out of from my hands and looks to the floor again. That one movement of Craig's head, rejecting my touch, is more hurtful than anything has been before. I sigh and collapse, close to tears on my chair again. 

"You have a right.. I mean, it's Cartman! I just.. I love you, Craig.. And I always will. I feel ashamed and I'm so sorry.." I mumble, trying to stem the waterworks. 

There is a silence between us for a moment.

"I'm the one who should be ashamed.." Craig croaks, finally. My head shoots upwards and my green eyes fix on Craig.

"What? Why?" I ask, utterly confused by this comment.

"I led you to do that.. I should have made more of an effort to get you to understand what happened, but I left you to wallow in misery, which led you to be confused and to kiss Eric. It's my fault. I'm sorry, Tweek." Craig says, slowly raising his head to meet my eyes. I stand up and cross the room to put my arm over his shoulder.

"Craig. It's not you-" 

"It is! It's my fault! I love you, Tweek. Please don't be mad." Craig says, clutching to my chest in a tight embrace.

"You always were stubborn, Craig." I say, stroking his jet-black hair. Craig looks up to me and smiles. I smile back before giving him a quick kiss. 

"Come on. There's a wedding waiting for us in there." I say, grabbing hold of his hand and walking into the main hall.

When we arrive, I see Cartman leaning on the alter. He looks to me as soon as we enter and grins.

"Tweek. Hey.." he says, flirtatiously. 

"Get out, now." I snarl. Eric looks momentarily hurt, then shakes it off.

"I don't think so."

"I suggest you leave now. Before I make you." I growl, clutching Craig's hand ever tighter. I see Cartman become considerably angrier. 

"But.. But I love you, you asshole!" he grunts, stretching an arm out towards me. I slap it away with my free hand.

"OUT. NOW!" I roar, pointing towards the door. Eric cowers then plods off down the aisle, quicker than I have ever seen him run before.

--

Dear Journal.

I suppose I should stop writing to you now. It is getting pretty childish. I am, after all, 27 now. Craig and I are going to Kyle and Stan's wedding tomorrow. Here's hoping they have no rude intrusions like we did, but here's hoping it is as special and as memorable as ours was.

I hope that the forms of adoption come back to us okay. We sent them off yesterday. Craig is really serious about it, but I'm not so sure. I suppose, if we do pass, the child will grow on me. But, we will just have to see how things go, won't we?

No one can predict what will happen in your future. You make it happen. There is no such thing as fate, only choice.

I'm sorry this last entry was so short.

I am going to miss you, friend.

Goodbye.

Tweek.

The End.


End file.
